Room: From Captivity to Freedom

Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, is a Drama/Thriller movie depicting life as a victim of kidnapping from the perspective of a mother and her son. The film highlights the psychological damage stemming from years of confinement and the difficult transition back to society and everyday life. Room analyzes the struggles Hope and Jack must go through to forget their years of imprisonment and focus on adjusting to their new life.

A strong appeal to emotion, seen in both Blackfish and Zoo Ethics, is used to both evoke pity from the audience and convey the level of pain and hardships Hope and Jack go through after years of being kidnapped. Room is genuinely heartbreaking, showing the immense connection between a mother and her son and how their love defeated evil, allowing them to escape. Jack is unaware of life beyond room, thinking that it is just him, Hope, his kidnapper, and a couple of cartoons on TV. The audience feels for Jack when he is in the room, knowing that there is so much more for him to see in the world. This is where dramatic irony comes into play. Irony allows the audience to engage but also be rooting for Jack’s escape so he can see what the world has to offer. After their difficult adjustment to the world, appeals to emotion are made through Hope’s years of lost time and extreme guilt. The audience is only hoping that Hope recovers and understands that she did nothing wrong with her child or life.

Film techniques such as voice overs of Jack’s childish perspective, birds-eye view of the room to show how small it is, and music to convey key turning events are used to create tone and allow Abrahamson to exaggerate certain aspects. Abrahamson hopes to highlight the effects confinement had on Hope and Jack, and he does so through showing life before and after being found. The film begins with a depressing tone, shifts to a hopeful, falls to a hopeless, and ends in a confident tone. Room takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster so they can understand Abrahamson’s main argument that a victim of kidnapping and imprisonment faces serious psychological effects, but they can recover through the love of others and possibly find happiness again.

Room is a sentimental story that informs the audience of many lessons, teaching the viewer about the effects of isolation, but also the strength of unconditional love. Lenny Abrahamson uses techniques such as emotion and tone shifts to fully illustrate the damage and tribulations one may face after being free from capture. While showing these negative aspects, Abrahamson also attempts to show the power of love and family amongst the evil.